Talk:Cheddar cheese

Colby Cheese vs. Cheddar Cheese

Given the article on Colby cheese, it would seem that the section on US Cheddar cheeses needs to be changed. I will do so; please feel free to revert or edit if you believe this is wrong. The old version is here:

In the United States, cheddar cheese comes in several varieties, including mild, medium, sharp, New York Style, Colby/Longhorn, white, and Vermont. New York Style Cheddar cheese is a particularly sharp cheddar cheese, sometimes with a hint of smoke. It is usually slightly softer than milder cheddar cheese. Colby/Longhorn Cheddar cheese has a mild to medium flavor. The curds are still distinct, often marbled in color, varying from cream to yellow.

Yes, this needs to be changed. Longhorn cheese comes in both cheddar and colby varieties and colby is very distinct from cheddar. Also, the reference to curds is confusing, I've no idea what this is supposed to mean, I've never seen distinct curds in any of the cheeses mentioned. I have seen cheese labelled Colby/Cheddar. I've always supposed that they did that because they knew it was an orange cheese (in the US, both are frequently orange, well, colby is a US cheese) but did not know which one it was. Longhorn is a source, the milk is low fat from longhorn cattle, I've seen longhorn mozzarella in specialty shops. Colby and cheddar are cheese types based on processing. It's not a good idea to confuse terms or use them in a confusing manner in an encyclopedia. Halfelven (talk) 06:58, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

I deleted the colby info. It is not backed up by the colby article, a Google search for "Colby Cheddar" yields results comparing the two after the Wiki article for colby, and there's no citation. Plus, I'm from the US and I've never been under the impression that colby is cheddar. 75.95.47.110 (talk) 20:57, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

Too much of an American slant on the article

For a cheese that originated in England and one of the most famous English Cheeses this article seems to talk far too much about American cheese and american regulations. Why talk about Colby and New York style yet not mention by name varieties like Red Leicester?

The article also doesn't seem to mention flavoured varieties like port or ale flavoured cheddar —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Abigsmurf (talk • contribs) 01:10, 19 January 2007 (UTC).

Is Red Leicester considered to be cheddar cheese? I've never seen it described as such whenever I've bought it. 217.34.39.123 12:05, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Many passages seem to even be regionally slanted. In my part of the U.S. (New England) we don't call any white cheddar cheese "Vermont Cheddar" (we only call cheddar actually made in Vermont by that term), nor do we have "New York style" cheddar (though we do have cheddar from New York state). My feeling is that this article fails to distinguish between labeling used by specific brands (perhaps common in the region of whoever wrote some of this) from actual commonly accepted terminology.--Ericjs (talk) 04:26, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

That's a good point. If this were a dictionary then 'commonly accepted terminology' would be paramount. But it is not, it is an encyclopedia -- so explaining the origin, history, and meaning of the subject is important. The commonly-accepted meaning of 'orange juice' is "something from a carton, watered down from a dehyrated mush of squashed oranges". That would not, however, be a good Wikipedia definition (although it should mention that version). quota (talk) 19:54, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

yes, this article is far too americanocentric. I shall modify it to make it more universal. There are also cheddar style cheeses of a high quality produced in Australia and New Zealand which get no mention, so why discuss at such length American cheese varieties. Cheddar cheese is a British cheese, any additional cheese information should come under its own subheading such as "American varieties of imitation cheddar, Australian varieties, New Zealand Varieties, Scottish varieties, Welsh varieties" e.t.c. or perhaps a link to a list of cheddar varieties is in order. One way or another Cheddar is an English cheese, and this article focuses far too much on American Cheddar imitations. (also no red Leicester is not Cheddar, it is a "Leicester cheese" made in a region of England where cheeses made even to the cheddar recipe are not officially recognised as Cheddar by the DOP. Just because a cheese is hard and wrapped in cloth does not make it a cheddar. There are many other varieties of hard cheese such as Gouda, Leicester, Lancashire, Parmagiano, Wensleydale, Cantal jeune - entre dieux - and vieux, Asiago and many many more).Shuggyg (talk) 16:17, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

It is still way too American. 4 January 2011 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.36.110.176 (talk) 11:31, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Too American. In the UK section it didn't explain about different producers or whether or not processed varieties are more popular varieties and which cheese is the most popular ect ect — Preceding unsigned comment added by LGMarshall (talk • contribs) 18:55, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

Nice touch with those remarks about American cheddar being imitation compared with others. The remarks are crude, ignorant, and typical but they're still funny. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.32.53.221 (talk) 15:48, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

Lead

Bob, what is the purpose of mentioning one kind of cheddar in the lead? [1] SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 01:48, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Actually it is several kinds of Cheddar - many different brands have the PDO applied. Given that other cheeses may have PDO or PGI applied to the whole production it is worth mentioning that only certain types of Cheddar, which is made worldwide, can have the PDO. --Simple Bob ^{a.k.a. The Spaminator} (Talk) 07:38, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

I don't follow. The lead discusses Cheddar in general, then suddenly mentions West Country farmhouse Cheddar. That should be something we mention in the English cheeses section, but I'm wondering what the point is of highlighting it in the lead. SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 07:42, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Because the lead should be a standalone summary of the whole article per WP:LEAD. The lead of this article should in fact be expanded to include more of the content, not less. --Simple Bob ^{a.k.a. The Spaminator} (Talk) 07:51, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Okay, I can understand that. But again, my question is: of all the different types of Cheddar around the world, why does the lead mention that one? SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 07:56, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Also, is it really written "West Country farmhouse Cheddar" with a lower-case f? SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 08:02, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

No, it isn't. :) SlimVirgin ^{TALK|CONTRIBS} 08:03, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Because (AIUI) West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is the only type that has any official designation. The purpose of the PDO designation is to recognise and protect the origins of the product, so it represents the origins. Thryduulf (talk) 09:09, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Is cheddar cheese getting sweeter?

On You and Yours on October 6 2011, it was announced that due to changes in the recipes, cheddar cheese was now getting sweeter. If any one knows about this, it could go in the article. ACEOREVIVED (talk) 12:16, 6 October 2011 (UTC)

Nutritional information

Could someone add a section on the nutritional value and health effects of Cheddar? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.9.1.157 (talk) 21:20, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

That should be easy if some sources can be found. I'm guessing there won't be one answer though given the number of brands and therefore the differing amounts of fat/protein/calories/etc. --Bob Re-born (talk) 22:10, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

Does cheddar have a PDO or not?

The introduction says that cheddar does not have a PDO, but later in the article I read that it does. As far as I know, the former is correct... --Allan Lewis (talk) 12:05, 26 July 2012 (UTC)